Ugg...LICE and we leave in a week!

[cjnix29]

Found lice on DS6 yesterday. Probably got it from this kids hair salon. (won't be going back there, that's for sure!!!) So we have treated, washed everything in the house. Found only one live bug last night. This morning, found two really small live ones. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This is the first time we have ever had this, and I am sort of freaking out and have the eebie jeebies, that is for sure! I am sure I have to tell the school, but hate the thought of my son being ostracized. I mean the stigma that goes along with it...even though we are a middle class, clean, from a nice neighborhood. It can happen anywhere. Anyone gone through this?

We leave for WDW next Saturaday.

 

[happymommy]

Sorry to hear that. I do think you need to tell the school, and he can't go to school until it's all cleared up.

I'm sure you've done everything. My friend whose daughter had them coated her hair in something, I forget if it was baby oil, then she wore a shower cap, to suffocate the remaining ones. Then be vigilant with the lice comb.

I hope you got them all! Yikes. I'm sure by next week it'll be fine.

Our kids' school had a really rough time with them a few years ago, and I felt so bad for the families affected.

I also think using a blow dryer can help after washing hair - the heat and extra brushing may help?

Good luck!

 

[The Hendies]

One week is plenty of time to take care of those little pests! Be sure to tread bedding as well. If the school has the same protocol as my child care program, they'll just toss a notice in each backpack reminding parents to take precautions - no names, no ostracizing! Good luck!

 

[RMulieri]

Lice have NOTHING to do with cleanliness.They don't know class,race, or gender. They go where they can make a home...the head.We had a MASSIVE outbreak at my daughters school last year.You need to let the school know.The parents in our casedid not and then the kid came to school and after being in school all day and giving another kids his baseball hat to wear.. told the teachers that "mommy didn't want me to tell anybody"..Well it spread from there.Try and not get to upset.Get some shampoo and a nit comb and go thru your childs hair.You may have to treat several times.

 

[mjkacmom]

BTDT - and lice only like clean hair. You need to spend a couple of hours a day with a good metal lice comb after treatment, all week, and do the second treatment. We also did the cetaphil treatment (you can google). Takes FOREVER, but we did get ours gone in under a week. You can smother the live ones, but the nits are the problem.

 

[delmar411]

honestly since it your DS, you need to simply shave his hair all off and wash his head with lice shampoo. Then treat your house well and notify the school. I doubt he got it from the salon, hair places won't cut hair that has live lice in it.

If you weren't heading to WDW so soon I wouldn't rec something so drastic but with boys it's simply a very quick fix and will keep them from reoccurring.

 

[delmar411]

Also if you have girls too, make sure to put their hair up and heavily cover it with hair product until you are sure the lice are gone. We spray DD6's hair w/ heavy duty hair spray every morning before school and gel it before she goes to any class that has carpeting. Lice prefer clean hair since it is easy for them at attach to the shaft.

 

[Mrs D]

Our school had a big outbreak this year. Youshould keep DS home until you find no nits (the tiny 'eggs' that attach to the hair shaft); you should be looking VERY throughly through his hair several times a day, bag any nits you find. I found a desk lamp and toothpick help when looking through the hair.
DO tell the school, they will not include names in the notice they send to other parents, but I'd say odds are someone else at school already has it - they may not realize yet...
My neighbors covered daughters hair in mayo and covered with a show cap for 8 hrs. They did this while waiting to do a 2nd treatment of Rid.

GL - I think you can get it taken care of in a week if you are Very Vigilant!

 

[LisaNJ25]

Make sure you check you and your husband also. 4 out of 6 of us had it 2 years ago right when the school year ended. I was in tears. For my son we just shaved his head and did the treatment. It was the first time and hopefully last that I had to deal with it.

Like others said, the like clean hair not dirty. Make sure you have hairspray in your hair to help keep them away.

 

[cjnix29]

Thanks for all the reassurances. My washing machine has been going nonstop since about 6 last night. DS is devastated but all his toys have been quarantined! Checked him this morning, and found a few more. Will keep checking. My husband's got a buzz cut, so his is easy to check. Not so sure how well he has checked mine, since I am itching just by association!

I just hear stories of reoccurance, and am afraid of that! I appriciate all the help!

 

[cjnix29]

just noticed my ticker now says 6 days! and I have hit over 1000 posts!

 

[SunniKC]

The CDC has some great information http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/treatment.html
I found it useful myself when one of the students at our preschool had lice. I remembered from having taught elementary school that they would not let the children be at school if they had any sign of nits...now the CDC says that is not needed....although some schools will still take that stance.
I went through it with my niece....she actually passed it to me (thanks to her mom not telling me when I picked her up for the weekend and letting her sleep in my bed). We used the shampoo you can get at any drugstore...bagged up all her stuffed animals...and just like you all the bedding. If she'd been a boy I'd probably have given her a buzz cut just to be on the safe side.

 

[ogreenlee]

Another trick for the future.. Tea Tree Oil shampoo/conditioner. They apparently don't like the scent. You can google for more info, but since finding out about this, I've been buying big bottles of the organic stuff that I've found at Marshall's and TJMaxx.

 

[sl_underwood]

I know it seems like a lot of work but I would treat the whole family whether you see any or not. If one person has it, there is a chance everyone does. Also remember to boil hair brushes, wash hair scruchies, etc. Wash everything in hot water and dry in your dryer. Vacuum mattresses, furniture, curtains and carpet well and change your bag or dump the contents immediately after. Wash any clothes, coats etc. that the lice might have come in contact with. You may have to treat several times and you will probably have to clean everything more than once to truly get rid of these pests.

 

[arielmomma]

Everyone else has already given a ton of good advice. I just wanted to say I am so sorry, it can happen to anyone, and that I wish you the best in getting rid of them. I wish you a wonderful and bug-free trip!

 

[daisyduck123]

You also need to vacuum your car (if it has cloth seats) REALLY WELL. A lot of people forget about that.

Good luck! No one in my family has ever had lice, but I get itchy just thinking about it!

 

[Mom2JaSaKa]

with 3 daughters i know how frustrating this can be. The advice here has been wonderful. I also have a suggestion. Use mouthwash and massage into scalp and hair. DO not rinse it out. Cover head with a towel and then a shower cap over the towel. I usually have my girls sleep with it on, then shampoo hair in the morning. It may smell a little minty but after my oldest daughter had lice one summer I found this treatment in a Dear Abby column or something. Being at my wits end I tried it and they were gone in 48 hours. Now whenever the girls come home to tell me the school nurse has "checked thier heads" I start the mouthwash shampoo as a precaution. Good Luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Found lice on DS6 yesterday. Probably got it from this kids hair salon. (won't be going back there, that's for sure!!!)

How are the students coats hung at school? Tried a hat on at a store or a friends?

 

[fakereadhed]

FWIW, we prever Nix over Rid. That tells you something about our past experience, that we have preferences. It was really bad at school when our girls were in elementary, and one of the problems was that the staff was wearing gloves to check and not changing them between kids. Honestly, in case it comes back, one way to save yourself from feeling like you're in an episode of Little House on the Prairie with all the work is to just keep all the extra bedding, throw pillows, and stuffed animals in storage until spring. Best of luck and watch out for those nits- they will hatch in a week or so.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

This is one reason I'm glad our school does a head check every Monday morning. My head is itching just reading this tread.

I hope you get it all under control. I remember my mom using kerosene on us as kids. We also used Rid or Nix once too.